They came from California, Massachusetts and New York. From Oregon and Pennsylvania. From Washington and Connecticut. From Idaho and Maryland. From Michigan and Wisconsin.

Colby volleyball coach Candice Parent brought players from a variety of regions in the country to come together in the 2002 season as one of the best volleyball teams in the program's history.

The Mules finished 23-10 and were the second seed in the New England Small College Athletic Conference Tournament. Colby ended up a strong eighth in the New England Division III volleyball poll.

"We earned a lot more respect in New England and in our conference," said Parent, who was named NESCAC Coach of the Year. "Now that we have all these expectations, how are we going to react to them? We went 8-2 in our conference and yet we could have lost to anybody. That's how close the competition is in this conference."

Colby had 10 juniors and first-year players on the 14-woman roster. That bodes well for the future in one of the strongest women's volleyball conferences in the country.

"The meshing of the first-year players and the upperclassmen was key," Parent said. "Team chemistry is vital because volleyball is such a game of momentum. How will the players trust each other and come together as a team is so important."

While the Mules lost a tough 3-2 quarterfinal match to Middlebury in the NESCAC Tournament, the season still had many highlights. Colby handed league champion Williams College its only conference loss. The Mules also played before a big crowd on Homecoming/Family Weekend and beat rivals Bates College and Bowdoin College on the same night.

"The win over Williams was tremendous because it was the first win over them in the program's history," Parent said. "That Friday night we beat Bates and Bowdoin was special with all the parents and alumni there. The football team was also unbelievable with their support that night. I'd like to have all my matches on Friday nights to get that type of fan support."

With the victories, Colby received numerous honors. First-year outside hitter Cait Cleaver (Kennett Square, Pa.) was the NESCAC and Maine State Rookie of the Year. Cleaver and junior setter Kimberly Prescott (Buena Park, Calif.) each earned NESCAC second-team honors. Junior co-captain Alyssa Henley (Spokane, Wash.) joined Cleaver and Prescott as Maine State first-team all-stars.

Colby's players also did the job in the classroom. Juniors Johanna Schroeder (Salmon, Idaho) and Abbey Stella (Westfield, Mass.) were two of the 10 fall Colby athletes named to the NESCAC All-Academic Team.

Cleaver finished the season ranked fourth in the NESCAC in kills per game (3.72) and led the Mules with 353 kills. She was also second on the team and tied for fifth in the conference in service aces per game (0.58, 55 total).

Prescott led the NESCAC in service aces per game (0.89), total service aces (94) and was third in the league in assists (10.61 per game). Prescott had 1,125 assists to break the Colby single-season record. She owns seven school records at Colby.

Schroeder was third in the NESCAC and Henley was sixth in hitting percentage. Schroeder had a .358 hitting percentage and finished the season with 260 kills. Henley was second on the team in kills with 282 and had a .326 hitting percentage.

Senior co-captain Laurel Burnham (Baileys Harbor, Wis.) played in the most games (115 of 116) during the season and led the team with 330 digs. Stella had 249 kills and led the Mules with 91 blocks. Jennifer Radcliffe (Eugene, Ore.) added 42 service aces and 262 digs in her first season.